• Lucytorial said on May 19, 2008....

  God no, but I wish we could, one c/c, one loan, business debts (due to non payers and i hate that kind of debt) we owe for a septic tank as well, and two cars are not running at the moment, I'd love to consolidate but alas, not our time in the universe.  I hope someone else comes along with good tales.

• lfbno7 said on May 19, 2008....

  I strongly recommend getting parents who send you thousands of dollars a year. I really miss that. I knew I would. Debts irritate the hell out of me. Thanks to my parents in years gone by, I don't have any. I'd be too neurotic about it to take that vacation. I'd just want to get out from under asap, so I could calm down. I'm the "prepay your mortgage" type.

• quietone said on May 19, 2008....

  polardoodle ~ you know I am all for it!  :)  I think they are good as long as one does not continue to go out and build up more debt in the process.  That is where people get into trouble with it.  Good luck.. I am keeping you in the prayers. 

• silverwhisper said on May 19, 2008....

  i'm afraid i have no practical experience with it, but honestly, i'm shocked that a loan rate is as much as your credit card rates--at least here in the US, rates of 18%+ are not at all uncommon for credit cards!
  
  ed

• dailyachesandpains said on May 19, 2008....

  Polarkins:  I did it when I had debt a LONG time ago.  The one thing you have to do is discipline yourselves.  It's so easy to think that you only have the one debt (after the consolidation), that you'll use the credit card "just one last time."  Always pay cash for everything after the consolidation and if you can't afford something, don't buy it.  Also, if you have a little extra cash, pay it toward the principal balance on the loan.  Make sure there isn't any early pay-off fees.  You know I was a credit analyst and debt counselor, so this is actually something I know about, lol!  I was thinking of doing a post on hints, tips and tricks to lower bills, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. 
   
  Ed's right about the 18%.  Most credit card companies (if not all) here base their business' in Wilmington, DE.  Their laws allow the banks to charge interest almost as high as they want to charge the consumer.  I could be mistaken, but I believe it's 24-26% that they can legally charge.  Other states have laws on how high interest rates can be and they're not that high. 
   
  Daily

• skald said on May 19, 2008....

  In this country we have had do to things like that. things are still going alright. Hope all will work out well for you too. (((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))

• cntlvmenuf said on May 19, 2008....

  One more thing to consider is how long will it take you to repay the loan and what will be the total cost of the loan? You don't want to consolidate and end up paying more in interest and even may be end up being in debt for the long haul vs. aggressively paying off your current debts as they are sooner. ....Is the bank asking for collateral? About getting a dishwasher, have you considered interest free financing from dept stores....may be even swinging a free installation and removal of the old dishwasher? Just make sure when you are "robbing Paul to pay John" you don't end up in a bigger hole than before....don't let the bank take anymore money from you than is necessary.

• Fire-flower said on May 19, 2008....

  I've done it, and it did take the bittiness out of my debts, but it's what cntlv said - how long are you going to sit with it? If you are disciplined, and ok with the long term consequences, it can be very helpful. Take care....

• hotaka said on May 24, 2008....

  All my debts in Canada are consolidated by my parents. They pay my bills there and I pay them back. I owe them quite a bundle now and I'm hoping to pay them back most of it by Christmas.
  
  When we got the loan for the house we got extra money to help pay for the baby delivery and things we'll need like a new air conditioner. Our loan payment only went up about $10 a month but we have a comfy cusion of cash in the bank now which we can sit on in case of emergencies.
  
  Good luck to you and I hope you can get everything settled and paid out soon enough.
  

• polarheart said on May 24, 2008....

  Hi Everyone!

  I am really sorry for not responding sooner. . .its been hectic here and we currently have another set of visitors from South Africa.

  But, I just wanted to say thanks so very much for all your comments and I'll let you know how things pan out.

  Polar x

• dancingdiva said on May 27, 2008....

  my partner and me looked into and decided against it.

• sunil_kvr said on May 28, 2008....

  If you are trying to consolidate your existing debt you may have a look at this site http://www.securedloanadviceuk.co.uk

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